Wild T & the Spirit

BandRockBlues

Tony Wild Springer has hung with the best of them. David Bowie, Jeff Healey, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Jay Leno, David Letterman. At the end of February there will be his new album "Fender Bender" released on Jazzhaus Records.

Thanks for previewing Band Search. Join Sonicbids today to get full access to view profiles and message members directly.

Biography

'Guitarist Tony 'Wild T' Springer is known as the Canadian guitar god! Over the years he has performed with many of the greats including DAVID BOWIE, THE DOORS, BOSTON, BON JOVI, JEFF HEALEY, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and JOHNNY WINTER. 'Wild T' has also appeared on many late night talk shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman and the Arsenio Hall show. These are just some of the many celebrities that have been blown away by his guitar playing and music!

Growing up in Trinidad, 'Wild T' originally was playing all kinds of musical instruments in Reggae and Calypso bands. He first picked up the guitar after hearing Steve Howe from the band YES, though one may find similarities to Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Eric Gale and Lenny Kravitz in his playing.

After moving to Toronto, Canada in his late teens, 'Wild T' quickly gained reputation playing on the local club scene. After spending many years fronting the wildly successful Jimi Hendrix Tribute Band FIRE, T decided to give voice to his own personal music. Jeff Healey says, "I saw a man with endless imagination, a man who combine that imagination with an emotion that you couldn't help but feel, and that's a rare, rare commodity in a musician. I followed him around like he was the messiah, and I probably learned more from Tony than from anybody else. Tony has been my idol for years!"

In 1987, after many successful local bands, 'Wild T' joined True North/Universal recording artists ROUGH TRADE and toured with act throughout Canada and U.S. for many years.

In 1990 WILD T AND THE SPIRIT began to take form. 'Wild T' recruited drummer Danny Bilan (MOXY) and bassist Brian Dickie from the club scene. The band signed a deal with Warner Music Canada and released their debut album 'Love Crazy' in 1991. The album was produced by Arnold Lanni (OUR LADY PEACE, KING'S X, FINGER ELEVEN) After the album was released Nazeem Lakay took over the bass duties in the band.

The album began to make a lot of noise on the Canadian blues/rock scene and Wild T and the Spirit began touring Canada coast to coast.

After seeing a WILD T AND THE SPIRIT video for the single, 'Midnight Blues' on Much Music (Canada's MTV) David Bowie, on tour in Canada with his band THE TIN MACHINE, made it a point to meet the flamboyant guitar player! After a few meetings, 'Wild T' was asked to play guitar on David's next solo album, 'Black Tie, White Noise'. "He is an absolute delight to work with" says David. The album was released in 1992. Also that year, Wild T toured with Bowie...appearing on all the major talk shows in the US.

After releasing his second album 'Givin' Blood' in 1993, which was again produced by Arnold Lanni, WILD T AND THE SPIRIT supported BON JOVI on a 14 show Canadian tour. The single 'Loveland' also became a Top 10 hit on Much Music in Canada! 'Givin' Blood' also received a nomination for 'Best Rock Album' by the Juno Awards (Canada's Grammy) in 1994. In 1995, 'Givin' Blood' was released in the U.S. by Thermometer Records. During this time, WILD T AND THE SPIRIT opened concerts for DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and JOHNNY WINTER throughout the U.S.

By this time, 'Wild T' began to take some time off, to just mainly focus on songwriting. Longtime friends, drummer John Bouvette (FROZEN GHOST, DAVID WILCOX, OUR LADY PEACE) and bassist Chas Laurie joined the band. The band continued to write and record songs, and play around the Ontario region. In 2000, WILD T AND THE SPIRIT released the album 'Strange Modern'. Produced by Alec Fraser, the album had more of a pop edge to it.

Also in 2000, bassist Guenther Kapelle (THE BLAZERS, JIMMY O AND CODE BLUE) joined the band. He had played with 'Wild T' at many local jam sessions, knew and liked 'Wild T'. The sublime bassist brought with him some big grooves, and fresh ideas on the direction of the band. 'Wild T', drummer John Bouvette, and bassist Guenther Kapelle continued to play the club and festival circuit in Quebec and Ontario.

In 2003, WILD T AND THE SPIRIT signed a deal with Bullseye Records and recorded their latest album 'True Bliss'. Produced by Wayne "The Brain" Brauer, 'Wild T' and Guenther Kapelle were joined on the new recording by drummer Brian Lass, keyboardist Peter Nunn (HONEYMOON SUITE, ALANNAH MILES) guitar great Jeff Healy, trumpet legend Guido Basso and singer Carol Pope. The album was released in Canada and the U.S. in 2004 and has been embraced by the many fans. This blues/rock album also mixes up funk, jazz and R&B, but still has the 'over the top' guitar stuff the people have come to love with Wild T'! '